


The Temple

by javelin



Category: Lost
Genre: Bocke, Explicit Sex, Fake-Locke, Flocke, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-24
Packaged: 2018-01-24 09:52:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1600526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/javelin/pseuds/javelin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben finds out that not every form of torture has to be painful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place shortly after the Ajira-crash.  
> I am not much of a writer and English is not my first language - still I hope some might enjoy this fic.  
> 

Little did Ben know that the man that had blindfolded and tied him to the floor, table or whatever else – was, even though he looked exactly like him, _not_ John Locke.

 

Ben didn’t have any idea what was going on or maybe even more importantly – why, but he found himself waking up from unconsciousness with a slight headache and dizziness.

 

“Better not move around so much, Ben, if you don’t want to cut your flesh with these ropes,” Locke said casually.

 

“What…wait a minute. John? What’s going on? Wha--”

 

“Well, Ben, we’ve got to talk,“ Locke interrupted him with a strange calmness to his voice.

 

“Oh, I get it, this is revenge for that I murdered you,” Ben flatly assumed. He relaxed as to ease the tension on his wrists and ankles.

 

“Nope.”

 

“No? Then what is it? Could you at least remove the blindfold? I am hardly a flight-risk in my current situation, am I?! What’s going on here, John?” Ben demanded to know.

 

“Well, Ben, I tell you what’s going on. You are going to tell me where to find the temple or the situation you are currently in is going to become much, much worse. Take my word for it,” John said emphasizing every single word.

 

“The temple? What makes you think I know where to find it?” Ben tried to lie himself out of the situation. As soon as he finished the sentence he realized how futile this attempt was, though.

 

“Please, Ben. Don’t play dumb with me here. I know that you know where to find it.”

 

“And what makes you think I am going to tell you? Well, good luck finding it…without me.” Ben remained calm.

 

“You are going to tell me, believe me.”

 

“Or what? Torture me? I have an incredibly high pain-threshold. Just ask Sayid or Jack or…”

 

“I know” Locke scoffed.

 

“Or even better…kill me…? Please, go ahead. I have lost about everything that ever mattered to me. But you know that, you were even with me when Alex was murdered. And my people -- “

 

“Are you finished, Ben?”

 

“Finished with what?”

 

“Your little monologue.” John replied. “Last chance - where is the temple?”

 

“John, what happened to you?” Ben was seriously confused now. Not scared or frightened, just confused. He couldn’t make the slightest sense out of the situation he was in.

 

“I died.”

 

Ben didn’t reply to that. Locke had obviously lost it. He now realized it was pointless trying to talk himself out of the situation. So he mentally prepared himself as best as he could for another severe beatdown or torture session.

 

John leaned in on Ben until he was mere inches away from his face. Ben could feel his warm breath on his face and neck.

 

“Ben, I am absolutely serious. There are forms of torture you aren’t prepared for, believe me. So, tell me…where…is…the…temple,” John said in a harsh whisper.

 

Ben didn’t reply or react. He was determined to endure whatever torture John had in store for him until he would realize he couldn’t break him.

 

“Ok, Ben, you are not giving me any choice here. You will talk when I am done with you.”

 

_Try me..._

 

After some painful seconds of idle silence Ben felt Locke slowly opening the buttons of his shirt and exposing his chest and stomach. Ben swallowed hard - mental preparation is one thing but once he realized Locke was getting serious he felt a slight fear creeping up his spine. He managed to master self control to a level most people could only dream of achieving but still, his instinct of self-preservation was pretty much alive. He was still blindfolded and so of course couldn’t see what torture devices Locke might be preparing to use on him. Locke slightly pinched one of Ben’s nipples to give him a taste of what’s to come eleciting a slight, involuntary groan.

 

“Ben, talk to me. Believe me I don’t want to do this but I will.”

 

Brief silence…then --

 

“Just get it over with, will you? And find out how far torturing me will get you,” Ben snapped.

 

“Let’s find out how long it takes until you lose your smug demeanor,” Locke said almost amused.

 

Next thing Ben felt was Locke fumbling with his belt buckle, then after the belt wasn’t in the way anymore his pants being opened…slowly…almost as if Locke was enjoying what he was doing. That slight fear creeping up Ben’s spine gave way to a very real terror as he – wrongly – assumed Locke was about to rape him. He didn’t expect this and so of course wasn’t prepared for something like that. His breathing increased significantly.

 

“Hell, John, what are you doing?”

 

Locke just smiled in reply but of course Ben couldn’t see that.

 

Ben was now terrified enough to fiercely tear on the ropes that held him down, to no effect of course. Locke had made sure he wasn’t going anywhere.

 

“Relax, Ben, you are only making it worse by tensing up. But of course you could start talking and this whole situation would be going away.”

 

“Forget it,” Ben said in a tone of voice that made clear that he didn’t care if these two words would be the last he ever said.

 

Locke didn’t hesitate to pull down Ben’s pants and boxers in the same movement, leaving him completely exposed – not without _accidentally_ brushing softly over Ben’s cock with his knuckles. Ben couldn’t remember if he had ever felt this embarrased and vulnerable before. Instinctively he tried to cover himself with his hands but that was of course impossible.

 

Before Ben could catch a clear thought again he felt Locke stroking and massaging his shaft - slowly and very sensually. He was obviously not yet out to hurt him. Long, slow strokes from the base up to the head where he lingered and applied some extra detail with every stroke. Ben was not even half hard yet and already Locke’s ministrations felt so good that his cock throbbed and slowly filled at every touch of his skilled fingers.

 

He tried his best to resist and mentally fight his quickly building erection, but deep down Ben felt he had already lost this battle. His mind was racing from the contradicting sensations of utter confusion, embarrassment, helplessness and the sheer physical pleasure. Something he – as he had to admit to himself – hadn’t experienced in a long, long time. Especially physical pleasure caused by someone else.

 

_Ben Linus was a walking contradiction – physically attractive, cultivated, highly intelligent – a man who under normal circumstances wouldn’t wear the same shirt for more than two consecutive days…on a tropical island the vast majority of mankind hasn’t even heard about. He was strong - mentally and even physically even though you wouldn’t guess that by looking at his rather slim frame and of course he was a leader – you could even say an archetypical alpha-male. And yet there was something about him that made people shy away from him. Kept them from seeing him as anything but a leader and protector of the island. Kept them from seeing him as a human being with emotions and desires. Or in other words: kept them from seeing him as someone you could love…let alone seeing him in any sexual way. God forbid. They kept a respectful distance whenever dealing with him. Ben found that out pretty early in life and thought there has to be something wrong with him. In addition to that he thought it was his destiny to be alone to fulfil his role as leader and protector without any mundane distractions._

_Unloved, and mostly untouched._

_At one point in his life Ben accepted his fate and realized he wasn’t worth to be loved, he didn’t deserve any kind of pleasure…especially physical pleasure, even if it was self-inflicted. So he stopped bothering about that a long time ago. From time to time when the sexual pressure became too much he touched himself, reluctantly, and it was more relief than pleasure._

 

So, his body, starving for physical contact and eager to release the build-up sexual tension, couldn’t do anything but betray him. John’s assault on him was so unexpected he didn’t have the slightest chance of fighting it. The deprivation of his visual senses caused by the blindfold added to that by amplifying every physical sensation.

 

“Stop it, John, stop it right now! Are you out of your mind?!” Ben was desperate – his body wanted and craved this but his mind didn’t want what John was doing to him. But if John wouldn’t stop right now there was hardly any going back…then his body would be too far gone to even think about containing his arousal with any mental self-control techniques.

 

“Tell me what I want to know and I will stop, I promise. But _something_   tells me you are enjoying this, don’t you, Ben?”

 

Ben was beyond embarrassed and he hated his body for betraying him like this, for giving Locke the upper hand by being robbed of his self-control completely. Yes, physical pain was something he could handle with ease, but this…?

 

“Please, John, don’t…” Ben begged.

 

“Oh, Ben, now you are begging me to stop, but believe me by the end of this you will be begging me to let you come.”

 

Ben squirmed at the mere thought of Locke’s implications.

 

“Seriously, John, we are civilized people here, aren’t we? I can’t believe you are doing this to me just to extract some information…” Ben said in a way that made clear he just now had lost any faith in humanity he might have had left until then.

 

“You are still capable of a coherent conversation, I see. I wonder for how much longer.” Locke’s tone of voice made it unmistakingly clear that he somehow was enjoying having Ben at the tip of his fingers. Exposed and embarrassed…and aroused.

 

Locke removed the blindfold and Ben immediately moved his head as not to have to look him in the eyes. The room they were in was relatively dimly lit, and he was grateful for that. He could now see that he was tied to a small table. Small enough that Locke had easy access to any part of his body.

 

“Look at me, Ben.”

 

Ben didn’t react, he stubbornly looked in the opposing corner of the room, determined to keep it that way. He had to regain his composure no matter what, regain the upper hand. He was the one who usually controlled and manipulated people, not the other way around!

 

He could see Locke’s hand reaching for his lower jaw, expecting him to yank his head in his direction but Locke’s touch was soft and not threatening in any way. Ben could feel Locke’s fingers trailing over his chin and up to his lips. At about the same time he felt Locke cupping his balls with the other hand and that threw him off guard again. He let out an involuntary moan and finally moved his head so that their looks met. Ben’s blue eyes that on a good day mirrored the beauty of the sky now mirrored a weird combination of emotional pain, confusion, disbelief and physical need.

 

While looking deep into his eyes Locke casually stroked the underside of Ben’s balls, alternating with massaging the inside of his thighs. Somehow effortlessly pressing all the right buttons.

 

By now Ben was as hard as he could get and the upperside of his erection almost touched his abdomen. He was _that_ hard.

 

“Please stop…please,” Ben whispered almost inaudibly; he didn’t trust his voice, didn’t want to moan. He didn’t want to give Locke that kind of triumph. But deep down he knew that it was only a matter of time until he was not only moaning but certainly _screaming_ in pleasure. Locke was so skilled at what he was doing that Ben was completely baffled by it. He knew Locke was a man of many skills but this…? This was too much to comprehend for Ben. At least right now. He slowly felt his higher mental functions shutting down to give way for more…basic needs.

 

Locke let go off Ben’s jaw. While one hand was still busy tending to Ben’s erection and adjacent regions he let his other hand slowly trail down his neck, casually playing with his chest hair, circling his nipples…

 

“You can try to maintain your stoic facial expression all you like, Ben, but I can see it in your eyes that you are very close to lose control. Stop trying to fool me,” Locke smiled. “Come on, let yourself go a bit…relax and enjoy.”

 

Ben didn’t like Locke’s cynical undertone the slightest bit. But then again – he was not even completely sure anymore if it was cynical. He was about to lose his mind - he just wasn’t sure if he was about to lose it to the confusion or the overwhelming physical pleasure first…

 

Locke leaned down until his mouth almost touched Ben’s right ear…

 

“Do you have any idea what I am going to do to you?”

 

Without giving Ben the chance to reply he continued - it was a rhetorical question anyway. And Ben couldn’t do anything but listen…

 

“First I will lick that small strip of hair on your belly…very slowly all the way up to your nipples…I will circle them one after the other with my tongue…very slowly…again and again…can you already feel the pressure increasing? Yes, soon it will become unbearable…And when I am done with your nipples I will let my tongue wander up to your neck, then your earlobes… I will lick and carefully nip them until I can see your silent screams of pleasure…”

 

Ben couldn’t help himself but to shallowly thrust into Locke’s hand that still tended to his massive erection. Locke’s speech alone was driving him insane. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to him once Locke went from talk to _real_ action.

 

“See? That didn’t take long, did it? You are already on fire and I haven’t really started yet. You have a beautiful body, Ben, but I assume you haven’t heard that in a long, long time.”

 

Ben nodded slightly. Not that it was any of Locke’s business to know, but whatever.

Ben was essentially being raped – in a non-invasive way, though, but still – and enjoying at least the physical part of it…Yes, _that long_ since someone appreciated his body that he enjoyed being raped by a man he under normal circumstances wouln’t feel overly attracted to. At least not physically. Locke’s mind and skills on the other hand…

 

Locke lifted his head for a moment to look directly into Ben’s eyes again. Yes, he was melting under his hands, all was going according to plan. Even though he could still see desperation and bewilderment in his eyes it was slowly replaced by the distinctive expression of arousal and pure need. He continued--

 

“And then, after I licked the precum from your leaking tip I will take you completely into my mouth…well, all that fits at least…I will lick and suck until you are almost ready to explode…circle your frenulum with my tongue…then carefully nip it with my teeth…back to the head again and all the way down…the whole shaft…again and again…and then when you are close, so close… I will stop. _Until you tell me where that damn temple is._ And if you still don’t want to talk I will repeat after a while…after you have had some time to come down from the edge…I will repeat until you are close again and every time I will add a new sensation to the mix…until you can’t take it anymore. Everyone has a breaking point, even you, Ben. And I will find it, even if it takes me hours and you are bathing in your own sweat and precum until then. Am I being clear enough?”

 

“Yes…certainly…that was pretty…descriptive…euphemisms are obviously overrated these days, aren’t they...”

 

Locke chuckled. He had to admit to himself that he was very impressved by the level of coherent thought and speech Ben was still capable of.

 

Ben could feel the first bead of precum building on the tip of his cock and it certainly wouldn’t take long until Locke would be aware of that.

 

As Locke was done with his speech he moved his head until his lips almost touched Ben’s. Ben was so far gone by now that he lifted his head that tiny necessary bit to kiss Locke. Soft at first and only their lips touching…carefully assessing. Almost chastely. Somehow that only added to the hotness of the situation. In Ben’s mind pictures of _what if Locke ripped both their clothes off and entered him and consumed his body in whole_ formed. Where did that come from? Whoa…was he really that far gone already? He pictured himself being invasively raped by John? Ben hated himself for that and tried to clear these pictures from his mind but they proved to be rather persistent.

 

“Patience, Ben, we will come to that soon enough.”

 

“What? Stop reading my mind, John. Wait a minute…how--?”

 

Locke continued kissing Ben before he had any chance to fully express his observation. This time the kiss was a lot more passionate…licking, probing and breathing into each others mouths... Ben couldn’t stop himself from moaning anymore and he was kinda surprised how good that felt to let it go, to remove the mental shackles that his mastery of self-control brought with them. He openly moaned into Locke’s mouth and he didn’t care anymore. If nothing else this situation at least had some therapeutical effect to it.

 

By now Locke had realized the bead of precum that was about to drop from the tip of Ben’s erection. With a skilled finger he picked it up and brought that finger between their lips so they both could consume a tiny fraction of it.

 

_This is not happening, Ben thought, this is unreal. I died in the Ajira-crash and am now in some kind of very bizarre…heaven…? Hell…?…with that thought he let go of any self-control, composure or whatever else that might have kept him from sharing his precum with John Locke._

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Ben’s massive erection throbbing with every heartbeat – leaking copious amounts of precum – he was close – Locke had to be very careful now if he didn’t want his mission to end somewhat…prematurely. If that happened he had to start all over again. On the other hand…he certainly enjoyed this – if on a completely different level than Ben. Locke chuckled and leaned in on Ben’s ear again.

 

“I can assure you this is real and you are very much alive,” he said with a smile.

 

_Ben was not really convinced. Not only that he never in his wildest dreams would have thought Locke to be capable of something like this – he seemed to be able to read his mind – at least superficially. This was not the John Locke he remembered, certainly not. To his frustration all he could do now was store this thought somewhere in the back of his head to analyze all of this once he was back to his usual self. Ben was simply overwhelmed – he was definitely not used to this – his body taking control while his mind was being reduced to somewhat more…primal. On the one hand he liked this, on the other he abhorred it – being completely stripped of any kind of control. But the physical side of this…oh my god…he couldn’t remember when he had ever felt this good in his life. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. Time had lost its meaning for Ben and what in reality took mere seconds felt like hours. With every passing second the urge to fight what was happening to him vanished._

_…he wanted to come._

_…he wanted to spill his seed all over the room if necessary._

_…just release the pressure._

 

At that moment Locke slowly let go of Ben. He could see the _what-the-hell-why_ in Ben’s eyes which glistened with pure arousal; his mouth gone slack; so close he could probably get him to come with mere words right now.

 

_Later…_

 

Locke amused himself just thinking what else he would do to the poor man who was so completely exposed at the tip of his fingers.

 

“The temple, Ben, where is it?”

 

“Please…no…I don’t know where it is.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

Ben didn’t reply any further; he realized it wouldn’t make any difference trying to argue with Locke while being so far gone. He was writhing in sweet agony; his body eager for the friction to continue. Ben didn’t give Locke the satisfaction of begging him to continue. At least not verbally – his facial expressions spoke volumes, though. But not even Ben, the master of self control, had any means to stop his body from reacting like this. _Maybe_ if he had any more experience in sexual matters…but of course he hadn’t.

 

Locke had to carefully assess the situation and find the right moment to continue – the crucial moment before Ben had a chance to somewhat regain composure _and_ him being off the edge enough so he wouldn’t come the next instant Locke would lay hands on his body again.

 

“Ben, seriously, don’t be so tough on yourself…believe me I WILL find your breaking point. Sooner or later. Your decision. But you already look a bit…uncomfortable, no?”

 

Ben just flashed him a somewhat angry, helpless look.

 

Locke slowly leaned down just enough that his lips – slightly – touched the head of Ben’s cock; slowly breathing in, then breathing out hot before carefully licking off the fresh bead of precum that was just about to drop on Ben’s abdomen. Ben’s eyes rolled back in his head; he let out a desperate moan.

 

_What have I ever done to deserve this…?! Somehow this was of course a rhetorical thought as Ben was very well aware that he had done more than enough that would qualify him for this kind of treatment._

 

“Ben, look at me.” Locke showed him the index and middle finger of his right hand before flexing them in a “come here” gesture. A moment later he dipped those fingers in the precum that had accumulated on Ben’s abdomen.

 

“You know what this means, right? If I cross this line there is no way back. Then you will either tell me what I want to know or you will suffer. Suffer in a most unconventional way but you will suffer. If you think my little treatment was agonizing before just throw that thought away right now and reconsider.”

 

_Ben just silently wished Locke would stop with all the sophisticated blah and fuck him already. Or finger him. Or a nice blowjob. Or combinations thereof. His mind was melting. Though even without any practical experience he had enough theoretical knowledge to be wide aware what Locke’s next step probably would be._

_The male g-spot. Oh hell._

 

Locke raised an eyebrow as if to say “last chance” but all he got from Ben was a faint, yet determined nod. Almost as if he was mocking him.

 

His left hand gripping Ben’s shaft while his right hand slowly found it’s way to his entrance – all without breaking eye contact. He had to be very careful of course; one wrong movement at the wrong moment and he would have Ben’s cum all over his face without the information he was looking for.

 

But no matter how hard he tried not to give too much away concerning his state of arousal, Ben found this more and more difficult to achieve. And “Locke” certainly was a master of reading even the subtlest emotions.

 

Locke’s fingers lingered over Ben’s entrace… slighty and carefully – almost playfully - probing until he had the confirmation he was looking for. He wouldn’t face any resistance. Ben’s body was relaxed and downright begging for this.

 

Ben was seriously curious if this would really feel as good as all his theoretical knowledge suggested.

 

Locke easily inserted one finger, then soon after the second. Careful now. From all the thousands of nerve endings that accumulated in this tight space he was determined to find the right ones. Carefully pressing and slowly circling, his slick fingers moving deeper and deeper. Ben’s breathing became ragged and somewhat irregular again - from anticipation and the almost casual strokes that Locke applied to his cock. Multitasking at its finest.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind Ben wondered how Locke would know if he found what he was looking for –

 

_And this is how the world ends._

 

As if he was struck by lightning, Ben’s body momentarily tensed; his head and chest shot upward – and he let out an involuntary cry of pleasure so intense that Locke was somewhat surprised by this extreme reaction. But this was the, kinda unsurprising, confirmation that this was a first for Ben. It hit him completely unprepared. In a way he felt even sorry for him.

 

_So, there’s your prostate. Pressure or friction? …Maybe both? As far as Locke was concerned he had all the time in the world to experience Ben’s body; inside and out. And he certainly didn’t waste any time._

 

Ben was out of his mind; his eyes closed now; breathing heavily – as far as he was concerned the world outside this room didn’t exist anymore. All he did and wanted to do right now was enjoy every millisecond of pleasure Locke’s treatment brought him. The last faint shred of awareness that was currently awake in his mind was still painfully aware, though…aware that Locke was of course not selflessly out to simply pleasure him…

 

_The experienced liar that he was, Ben made the best out of the situation – he could lie to others, he could lie to himself without any problems. Locke hadn’t made any false promises as to what he would do to him. Everything he was talking about minutes ago was meticulously applied to Ben’s body. There almost wasn’t a single inch of skin that was left untouched. And again the kissing and licking and probing, passionate beyond words – yet at the same time so wrong and calculating. Like black and white at the same time without mixing into meaningless gray. It was such an intense experience he certainly couldn’t tell how much time exactly went by..._

 

“Ben?” Locke said after a while in a tone of voice somewhere between very determined though non-threatening.

 

Ben opened his eyes again to look at him. He realized that Locke had by now found the pace, angle, technique and whatnot to keep him on the edge for hours. Desperation slowly crept up his spine. He had of course been determined from the start to resist Locke’s treatment long enough until he would realize he couldn’t break him – but it almost seemed that Locke was too persistent and determined himself to fall for this. After all, he had the upper hand. He was not the one tied to a table being reduced to a quivering, sweating incarnation of pure need and arousal…

 

Ben decided not to reply. He just stubbornly looked at Locke, breathing heavily.

 

“Alright, Ben, I have all the time in the world. Brace yourself for the next round,” Locke said and shrugged casually as if it was everyday business for him to keep men on the edge of orgasm for what seemed like an eternity. And he was way too amused for a situation like this. On top of that his stamina seemed remarkable. All the licking, sucking, stroking, probing…he mastered it like a pro with not even the slighest sign of exhaustion.

 

_Ben was not an openly aggressive man, though he was capable of literally exploding in his opponent’s face if the situation required it. Martin Keamy - among others - could certainly confirm this – if he would still be alive…_

_And unbelievably - mostly to Ben himself - Locke had finally found his breaking point._

 

“Ben…the temple…just tell me where it is and this stops immediately,” Locke said while still being busy with Ben’s body.

 

“Please, I can’t take this anymore, let me come already!…please! Or kill me… I don’t care anymore but please stop already! I’m done, I’m finished, you win…!!! Please…,” Ben’s tone of voice a mix of testosterone-overkill induced aggression and utter desperation - he screamed at Locke while his eyes reflected pure incomprehension. Tearing at the ropes he looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. He was simply finished and done.

 

Locke leaned in a bit, tilted his head slightly, raised his eyebrows and stopped for a moment what he was doing –

 

“Just tell me where it is.” He hated to sound so much like a broken record but it was a simple necessity.

 

Ben took his remaining strength to raise his upper body as far as the ropes allowed, looked Locke straight into the eyes with as much determination as he could muster and said:

 

“No. I would rather die.”

 

At this moment Locke knew he was serious. There was no way in hell he could bring Ben Linus to give up the location of the temple. Not in 2 hours; not if they played this little game for weeks. No fucking way.

 

“Locke” had to admit to himself that he was seriously impressed by how Ben managed to stay absolutely true to himself even in a situation like this.

 

He produced a small folding knife from a pocket in his pants and slowly opened it.

 

“So this is it?” Ben felt the strange liberation of not being able to do anything about his impending death. He wasn’t even overly sad; just defeated and exhausted. In a way he was grateful that soon this all would be over. No more nightmares, no more suffering. Just the comfort of black nothingness.

 

“I had to be absolutely certain. I am now,” Locke said not without a good deal of disappointment in his voice.

 

Ben just closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

 

But instead of killing him, Locke quickly cut the ropes around Ben’s wrists and ankles and finally applied the final touches and strokes to send Ben over the edge.

 

He came so hard it almost hurt.

 

He came so hard his semen spilled over his throat and chin. Seemingly endless streams of hot, white fluid.

 

He couldn’t even cry out or moan, it was just that intense – so intense he afterwards was surprised he wasn’t knocked unconscious.

 

“You’re free to go now, Ben. But we will meet again. Soon.”

 

_Ben’s ego was shattered to pieces when Alex was murdered – all Locke had to do was carefully peel away those pieces by means of an extreme situation like the one just experienced. Much to his disappointment what he found beyond Ben's ego was NOT the man he wished as companion for his upcoming mission._

_He realized that Ben the master manipulator, liar and schemer was just the result of conditioning. It was just a part of his ego._

_Ben’s true self beneath was that of a natural leader who leads by means of example if given the chance – absolutely selfless, sacrificing everything – his own life when necessary - for his cause. Protecting the island no matter what. In a way Locke was now very surprised that Jacob had crossed off his name from the list of potential candidates –_

_**117 - Linus** _

_But then again Jacob never saw Ben for what he truly was. How could he have…? For him Ben was merely a puppet who was under the impression of being in charge - for his sake. Leader of the Others, nothing more, nothing less._

_Wasted potential._


End file.
